Sunderland must win their head-to-heads against relegation rivals if they are to stand a realistic chance of survival - and even then there are no guarantees, admits skipper John O’Shea.

The Black Cats are bottom of the table and six points adrift of safety with 11 games remaining, but their run-in includes games against five sides involved in the relegation battle - with three of those fixtures at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland face Middlesbrough, Bournemouth, and Swansea City on home soil, while they must travel to Hull City and Leicester City.

The current situation looks grim for Sunderland, but they have beaten the odds to escape the drop for the last four years after coming good late in the season, and they will need to embark on another good run if they are to preserve their Premier League status once again.

John O'Shea of Sunderland (Image: Sunderland AFC)

“If we win those five games as the manager says we’ll give ourselves a chance, it might not be enough, you could win six, seven and it might still not be enough,” said experienced former Manchester United man O’Shea.

“I was watching the [Sky Sports show] Premier League Years a few days ago and remember some of the teams, the runs they went on to try and stay in it and were so unlucky.